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Ben's Week In Review: May 13

Hey all, and a Happy Mother's Day to all the mommies out there! Well, as usual (recently), there's more than enough to talk about this week, so let's get to it.

Square-Enix Rockin' The Party!

YEah! My favorite RPG company is holding their big ol' Party even as we speak; there were around 40,000 gamers and over 300 journalists on hand today, and Square-Enix didn't waste any time. They went nuts with a whole bunch of previews and trailers for all those lucky attendees, and that included a brand new trailer for Final Fantasy XIII! And to add to the excitement (as unfounded as it may be), GameStop went and listed the game as arriving this year in December! Of course, that may not be even remotely accurate, but hey, we can always hope. Besides, if the MGS 4 delay is real, than why couldn't this be real? It'd surprise the hell out of me, though, considering Final Fantasy XII just came out last year.

The Last Remnant also sounds crazy promising, and I hope we finally get to see that trailer that everyone was talking about. Dissidia: Final Fantasy for the PSP was another big draw today, but I really don't like the idea of playing such a great series on such a tiny system. It just seems...wrong, somehow.

It's depressing when great franchises start to suck...

One of he first games to really ensnare me as a FPS fan for life was Medal of Honor (believe it or not); even though I had played most of the FPSs up to that point, it was kinda half-hearted. I never really got into them until MoH, and while I honestly don't know why - the DOOMs and Duke Nukems were a lotta fun - it remains a fact that ten years ago, I really fell in love with the FPS thanks to EA's new franchise. Then, the first installment on the PS2, Frontline, was just plain awesome, Allied Assault for the PC was also awesome, and so I was all prepped for a continuous string of FPS sweetness. I just loved the historical WWII aspect, and I liked it more than Call of Duty.

But the series took a big step back with Rising Sun, got only a little better with European Assault, and then absolutely disintegrated with Vanguard. It drives me nuts when this happens! Hell, a rehash would've been a million times better; just do Frontline again with a new character or something, if you had no intention of putting any effort into it. I mean, this one just sucked in comparison. Medal of Honor: Airborne for the PS3 had better resurrect this once-fantastic franchise, that's all I've got to say.

Tecmo Bowl rules, and you damn well know it

It ruled when it came out and it still rules even today, whether you play the original on the NES or the GameBoy. It was about as basic as football games can get, but anybody who says they didn't have fun with that game are lying through their teeth. And now, Tecmo says they're doing another one! I, for one, can't wait to hear more about it. I don't want them to forget about their roots, either; I want a game that's straight-up arcade-style entertainment, and I don't care about any frills. Tecmo Bowl is traditionally frill-LESS, and that's half the point.

The only thing that worries me is that one quote, about how it "won't be on the platform we're probably thinking of." It makes me think they're making it for the Wii, or something, which will thoroughly piss me off. Not that I dislike the Wii, but because a motion-sensing football game is not what this game is all about. Don't you dare do it, Tecmo, you hear me?!

Personal Gaming Update

So I finally got around to finishing Splinter Cell: Double Agent, and now I'm on to Kingdom Hearts II. No, I didn't make the mistake of starting up yet another game of Final Fantasy VII or Final Fantasy Tactics; I actually went out and picked up a game I wanted to play but never got around to it. And as it's a Greatest Hit now, it only cost me $20, and so far, I think it's well worth the price. While I put a good 30 hours into the original, I never finished it, so I was kinda lost during that massive 3.5-hour intro portion, but it's still fun. I very much hate the idea of not keeping some of the other characters, though...being stuck with the same three permanent members is just plain annoying, unless your name is Wild Arms.

I also picked up Phantom Dust for the Xbox for $5. Microsoft just recently added this title to the 360's backwards compatibility list, and I had heard great things about this RPG, so I figured I should give it a shot. If it sucks...well, I'm only out $5. And looking down the road, I'm looking forward to seeing how The Darkness turns out. 'crosses fingers'